......................................................................................
I do not own Artemis Fowl or any of the characters that are the property of Eoin Colfer
.......................................................................................
Chapter Two- Plane ride Act II
Twiddling his thumbs, Artemis turned to Juliet. She seemed to be content; watching a wrestling match on her mini DVD player surely kept her attention. She gasped and clapped as her favorite wrestler preformed the perfect combos, and she was commenting on every move. "Get im' Steve! That's right, finish him! ONE! TWO! TH- WHAT THE-" Apparently, the opposing wrestler got out of Steve's pin.
"Juliet, you need to keep it down. This is a plane for heaven's sake!" forcibly whispered Artemis. Juliet casted her eyes down and mumbled to herself for a bit. Artemis fell back in his seat, deeply exhaled, and closed his eyes. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and opened an eye a crack. "Yes?" he said irritatedly.
"Well, young man, you sure are making a lot of noise. Could you please keep it down?" said a stewardess full of cheer. Artemis sighed, and sat up, drawing himself up.
"Madam, do you know who you are talking to? I am not a "young man", but you insist on calling me that. I am no mere fool, I've probably an IQ higher than the whole crew on this plane combined. If you persist on calling me a young man from hereon out, I will have to turn you over to my bodyguard, Juliet." He cleared his throat. "And it hasn't been me making any noise. A parting thought, Miss. What is your name?"
The stewardess faltered, obviously flustered by this vicious attack. "M-m-m-Molly youn-" Artemis cut her off.
"Molly, have you ever been Suplexed?" Asked Artemis quietly. Molly shook her head. "If you persist with these little foolish games, you will be." Artemis smiled and returned to attempting to nap. He opened a single eye again, looking at the stewardess. "What are you waiting for? Shoo! Go on now, don't let a "young man" get in your way of servicing anyone else." commented Artemis. Molly wheeled on her foot and stumbled off. Artemis sighed and looked away. "Shame, really. She could've redeemed herself if she wasn't so unobservant. I obviously am not a child." Juliet giggled and looked around the plane.
Vigorous attention.
Artemis flipped his laptop back open, waiting for it to fully load. Once it did so, he signed on to the internet, his fingers a blur. Artemis went through several websites, pausing to read comments of importance. He closed the browser and opened up a virtual reality training program. Pulling out a wireless GunCon from his bag, he surfed through the menus, calibrating the gun. This was no ordinary GunCon, though. It had a removable clip, and that was the only real way to reload. No A or B buttons,
no lightweight plastic. It weighed the same as a fully loaded handgun. Artemis raised an eyebrow. He had programmed this VR himself, complete with an actual function to induce pain when shot, assuming you have the actual physical equipment; strap on electrical shock attachments. Nothing dangerous, just enough to leave a smart sting. Switching the difficulty level up to eight of ten, he proceeded to the Warehouse level; eighty hostiles armed with fully automatic weapons. The only weapon you begin with is a unloaded handgun.
Stealthily padding through the hallways, peeking around the corners, Artemis noticed no hostiles. He peeked into a closet. Bingo, the closet really was an ammunition storehouse. Tapping a key, he picked up a box of bullets. He looked around and spotted a full suit of Kevlar body armor. Artemis put it on. Artemis noticed a gun poking out of the top of the shelf, he jumped up and snatched it. It seemed to be a Rocket Propelled grenade launcher. Whistling, he looked around for any ammunition for it. Nothing. Damn. Then, before he left the room, he bumped into something. Tapping the K key on his keyboard to change the view downwards, he found what he tripped over was really a wooden crate. ©öÃz was printed on it in red spray paint. Bingo, ammo for the RPG. Grinning, he grabbed a few, loading the RPG launcher after he strapped some on his back. Suddenly, an alarm sounded and flashing lights were surrounding Artemis. Damn, must be security cameras. He slung the RPG launcher on his back and expertly drew his handgun.
In the game, he was running along, but in real life, he was gripping his GunCon and tapping keys with the other hand.
Artemis checked his stash of ammunition and weapons. 'Perfect' he thought. 'But this armor is really slowing me down...' He peeked around a corner and drew back almost instantly as a shot rang about an inch above his head. 'Time for a new plan,' and with that, Artemis looked up. A ladder lead to the upper levels. Artemis holstered his weapon and grabbed the closest rung and made his ascent.
"Artemis," said Juliet. "That game looks interesting, what is it?" Artemis pressed the escape key, blacking the screen and putting it on pause. Artemis cleared his throat.
"It's virtual reality training. As real as it gets, and if you're really bored, you can compete against friend over an internet connection. So far, that's not possible considering that this is the only copy available."
"Interesting, maybe I could try some time," commented Juliet. Artemis nodded and turned back to his game.
He was at the top of the ladder now. A hostile turned the corner and Artemis whipped out his gun, firing two shots; one landed between the eyes, and one in the chest. The hostile stopped in his tracks, the digitalized blood pouring from his wounds traced down his front. Artemis rushed forward and caught the falling enemy. Hopefully, no one heard the gunshot, but that was unlikely. He flipped the hostile over, searched him for anything of importance, and snatched off the dog tags, reading the name. "Paul Chun" was printed on it. Snatching the three flash grenades out of their pouches, Artemis heard shouts. They didn't sound very happy. The alarm stopped though, as Artemis noticed. 'That can't be good'.
Back in real life, on the plane, people were staring at Artemis as if he were crazy. Mostly old people, they assumed the GunCon to be real.
"Is he one of those terrorists?"
"Why in the blue blazes of hell would he be pointing a gun at the damn laptop?"
"Maybe Windows crashed."
Artemis didn't notice anything these people were saying, he was busy avoiding a group of heavily armed enemies. He didn't get spotted, but one soldier was lagging behind. None of his comrades noticed this, so he just stopped. Panting, the enemy pulled out a bottle of water. Artemis caught him off guard; jumping behind him, he snapped the hostile's neck. An "oomph" emitted from the hostile's mouth and a crack from the neck, he fell to the floor. Artemis pressed the "G" key and he found a tranquilizer handgun. 'Can't tranquilize without darts' thought Artemis to himself. He shifted his view and saw a bright feather poking around the dead soldier's belt. Artemis grabbed it and it revealed a dart at the other end. 'Perfect'. Artemis found two more and loaded it, placing his handgun away. He decided o run down the corridor, and at the end, he had two choices, left or right. Before he reached the end, he decided to turn left.
He reached the end, and as he turned left, he heard shouts from behind him. Artemis knew what was coming; gunshots would be piercing his flesh in less than a second. Executing a fifteen letter command, he simultaneously drew his RPG launcher, jumped three feet in the air, and turned one hundred and eighty degrees. This was the tricky part: aiming the GunCon so the grenade would fire directly into the group of twenty or so people. Although it was a tough call, he raised the GunCon an inch or so and fired.
Perfect aim, the dismembered body parts went flying. Artemis landed as the last arms and legs fell, blood, not his own, clouded his vision. No actual harm was done to himself, but when he landed, someone snuck up behind him. Artemis looked at the vibration sensor on screen, it was sensing something, and that something was footsteps. Tossing aside the launcher, he grabbed for his handgun.
"Young man, we must insist that you stop playing at once. The captain requests that all electrical devices are off." Artemis nodded, saved his game and flicked off his laptop. Juliet growled at the stewardess and glared. Artemis poked Juliet on the shoulder after he put the laptop in it's case.
"Now Juliet, let me explain something about my relatives." he glanced to see if she was paying attention, not that it mattered. She was intently staring at his eyes. "Right. Okay, so my relatives might be anything from rude to downright annoying. Under uno/u circumstances are you to do any physical harm to them. iNONE./i" Juliet nodded and verbally affirmed that nothing would happen unless they were to lay a hand on him. Artemis smiled. "I'm sure nothing will. Oh, Juliet¼ I'm sorry about¼Butler." Juliet looked at her feet.
"I'm sure that he'll be alright, Artemis" mumbled Juliet.
Two weeks before, Butler was wounded and lost a great deal of blood. Even though he was safe from death, he couldn't recover fully for a while and still needed to rest in the finest hospital. He wouldn't let Juliet stay behind with him; he was surely not letting himself get in the way of Artemis's protection.
"Don't let little old me stop you. This is your JOB, I'll be fine." insisted Butler. Juliet had tears welled up in her eyes at the time, something uncharacteristic of her. She hugged him, and he did the same for her.
"Get well, big man. I love you." Those were Juliet's last words to Butler before she left to accompany Artemis.
"On any rate, I want you to be prepared for the matter at hand. I need you to maintain your role: my older sister. If you maintain that role, nothing wrong with happen and no problems will arise. On the other hand¼ if you fail to complete your role, the only option will be to leave and you will be placed on probation. I know it is harsh, but this is important. If I cannot meet with my business associate, we have failed. Do you understand?" Juliet gulped and nodded. "My relatives are¼American. We might have troubles, they are arrogant and loud. I realize not all Americans are this way, but this particular family is. Just keep calm and nothing can happen against our plans." Juliet nodded again.
Artemis checked his Rolex timepiece. They were thirteen minutes away from arriving at JFK airport. He would then find his relatives, be driven to their residence, spend some time, and at night, slip out. He would then be transported to the headquarters of his associates and then would do business.
"Now Artemis, where are we renting our car from?" asked Juliet. Artemis pondered this for a moment and checked his palm pilot. "Well, I've brought enough money to actually buy what I want, and I'd rather dispose of it at the end of this venture. I think," he said, pausing to check his wallet. "Yes, I think that a H2 would do us well once I purchase it and get it, ahem, "pimped out"." Artemis said. He pictured the H2 he was to buy fully loaded with neons, rims, and other unnecessary equipment. He then shook his head and rethought it. "Actually, Juliet, do you think the 2003 model of the Porsche 911 is suitable?" asked Artemis.
Juliet smiled. "It's a bit on the flashy side, but probably the best choice. Uhm, but what exactly did you mean by "dispose" of it? I mean, you don't exactly just get rid of a Porsche."
"I would, I don't won't need it after this. I'll just sell it back or give it away to some charitable cause"
"We will be arriving at JFK airport in three minutes, please secure all carry on luggage." Artemis grabbed his laptop case, and Juliet found her small duffel bag of clothes. They waited silently for the plane to land, and they were admitted off once it did. Artemis and Juliet walked through the carpeted hallways, and they stopped at the luggage pickup. They stood there, and looked around, none of their luggage had arrived yet. At the point where they were going to complain, their luggage appeared. "Finally" muttered Artemis. Juliet grabbed the packs and they looked around for the person to pick them up. No one was to be seen, so Artemis flicked out his cell phone and dialed his relative's cell phone. "Uncle Paul? I don't see you anywhere, where should I be?"
"Hey Art, how's it been? Well, I'm at JFK, I'm on my way to baggage right now. I'll see ya there!" The phone clicked off and Artemis snapped his phone closed.
"We'll see him anytime now¼" Artemis trailed off. He noticed a tall American man walking towards them; he was muscular, tall, and was wearing a black pinstriped suit. He had a silver tie on and was smiling.
"Artemis Fowl, I presume."
I do not own Artemis Fowl or any of the characters that are the property of Eoin Colfer
.......................................................................................
Chapter Two- Plane ride Act II
Twiddling his thumbs, Artemis turned to Juliet. She seemed to be content; watching a wrestling match on her mini DVD player surely kept her attention. She gasped and clapped as her favorite wrestler preformed the perfect combos, and she was commenting on every move. "Get im' Steve! That's right, finish him! ONE! TWO! TH- WHAT THE-" Apparently, the opposing wrestler got out of Steve's pin.
"Juliet, you need to keep it down. This is a plane for heaven's sake!" forcibly whispered Artemis. Juliet casted her eyes down and mumbled to herself for a bit. Artemis fell back in his seat, deeply exhaled, and closed his eyes. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and opened an eye a crack. "Yes?" he said irritatedly.
"Well, young man, you sure are making a lot of noise. Could you please keep it down?" said a stewardess full of cheer. Artemis sighed, and sat up, drawing himself up.
"Madam, do you know who you are talking to? I am not a "young man", but you insist on calling me that. I am no mere fool, I've probably an IQ higher than the whole crew on this plane combined. If you persist on calling me a young man from hereon out, I will have to turn you over to my bodyguard, Juliet." He cleared his throat. "And it hasn't been me making any noise. A parting thought, Miss. What is your name?"
The stewardess faltered, obviously flustered by this vicious attack. "M-m-m-Molly youn-" Artemis cut her off.
"Molly, have you ever been Suplexed?" Asked Artemis quietly. Molly shook her head. "If you persist with these little foolish games, you will be." Artemis smiled and returned to attempting to nap. He opened a single eye again, looking at the stewardess. "What are you waiting for? Shoo! Go on now, don't let a "young man" get in your way of servicing anyone else." commented Artemis. Molly wheeled on her foot and stumbled off. Artemis sighed and looked away. "Shame, really. She could've redeemed herself if she wasn't so unobservant. I obviously am not a child." Juliet giggled and looked around the plane.
Vigorous attention.
Artemis flipped his laptop back open, waiting for it to fully load. Once it did so, he signed on to the internet, his fingers a blur. Artemis went through several websites, pausing to read comments of importance. He closed the browser and opened up a virtual reality training program. Pulling out a wireless GunCon from his bag, he surfed through the menus, calibrating the gun. This was no ordinary GunCon, though. It had a removable clip, and that was the only real way to reload. No A or B buttons,
no lightweight plastic. It weighed the same as a fully loaded handgun. Artemis raised an eyebrow. He had programmed this VR himself, complete with an actual function to induce pain when shot, assuming you have the actual physical equipment; strap on electrical shock attachments. Nothing dangerous, just enough to leave a smart sting. Switching the difficulty level up to eight of ten, he proceeded to the Warehouse level; eighty hostiles armed with fully automatic weapons. The only weapon you begin with is a unloaded handgun.
Stealthily padding through the hallways, peeking around the corners, Artemis noticed no hostiles. He peeked into a closet. Bingo, the closet really was an ammunition storehouse. Tapping a key, he picked up a box of bullets. He looked around and spotted a full suit of Kevlar body armor. Artemis put it on. Artemis noticed a gun poking out of the top of the shelf, he jumped up and snatched it. It seemed to be a Rocket Propelled grenade launcher. Whistling, he looked around for any ammunition for it. Nothing. Damn. Then, before he left the room, he bumped into something. Tapping the K key on his keyboard to change the view downwards, he found what he tripped over was really a wooden crate. ©öÃz was printed on it in red spray paint. Bingo, ammo for the RPG. Grinning, he grabbed a few, loading the RPG launcher after he strapped some on his back. Suddenly, an alarm sounded and flashing lights were surrounding Artemis. Damn, must be security cameras. He slung the RPG launcher on his back and expertly drew his handgun.
In the game, he was running along, but in real life, he was gripping his GunCon and tapping keys with the other hand.
Artemis checked his stash of ammunition and weapons. 'Perfect' he thought. 'But this armor is really slowing me down...' He peeked around a corner and drew back almost instantly as a shot rang about an inch above his head. 'Time for a new plan,' and with that, Artemis looked up. A ladder lead to the upper levels. Artemis holstered his weapon and grabbed the closest rung and made his ascent.
"Artemis," said Juliet. "That game looks interesting, what is it?" Artemis pressed the escape key, blacking the screen and putting it on pause. Artemis cleared his throat.
"It's virtual reality training. As real as it gets, and if you're really bored, you can compete against friend over an internet connection. So far, that's not possible considering that this is the only copy available."
"Interesting, maybe I could try some time," commented Juliet. Artemis nodded and turned back to his game.
He was at the top of the ladder now. A hostile turned the corner and Artemis whipped out his gun, firing two shots; one landed between the eyes, and one in the chest. The hostile stopped in his tracks, the digitalized blood pouring from his wounds traced down his front. Artemis rushed forward and caught the falling enemy. Hopefully, no one heard the gunshot, but that was unlikely. He flipped the hostile over, searched him for anything of importance, and snatched off the dog tags, reading the name. "Paul Chun" was printed on it. Snatching the three flash grenades out of their pouches, Artemis heard shouts. They didn't sound very happy. The alarm stopped though, as Artemis noticed. 'That can't be good'.
Back in real life, on the plane, people were staring at Artemis as if he were crazy. Mostly old people, they assumed the GunCon to be real.
"Is he one of those terrorists?"
"Why in the blue blazes of hell would he be pointing a gun at the damn laptop?"
"Maybe Windows crashed."
Artemis didn't notice anything these people were saying, he was busy avoiding a group of heavily armed enemies. He didn't get spotted, but one soldier was lagging behind. None of his comrades noticed this, so he just stopped. Panting, the enemy pulled out a bottle of water. Artemis caught him off guard; jumping behind him, he snapped the hostile's neck. An "oomph" emitted from the hostile's mouth and a crack from the neck, he fell to the floor. Artemis pressed the "G" key and he found a tranquilizer handgun. 'Can't tranquilize without darts' thought Artemis to himself. He shifted his view and saw a bright feather poking around the dead soldier's belt. Artemis grabbed it and it revealed a dart at the other end. 'Perfect'. Artemis found two more and loaded it, placing his handgun away. He decided o run down the corridor, and at the end, he had two choices, left or right. Before he reached the end, he decided to turn left.
He reached the end, and as he turned left, he heard shouts from behind him. Artemis knew what was coming; gunshots would be piercing his flesh in less than a second. Executing a fifteen letter command, he simultaneously drew his RPG launcher, jumped three feet in the air, and turned one hundred and eighty degrees. This was the tricky part: aiming the GunCon so the grenade would fire directly into the group of twenty or so people. Although it was a tough call, he raised the GunCon an inch or so and fired.
Perfect aim, the dismembered body parts went flying. Artemis landed as the last arms and legs fell, blood, not his own, clouded his vision. No actual harm was done to himself, but when he landed, someone snuck up behind him. Artemis looked at the vibration sensor on screen, it was sensing something, and that something was footsteps. Tossing aside the launcher, he grabbed for his handgun.
"Young man, we must insist that you stop playing at once. The captain requests that all electrical devices are off." Artemis nodded, saved his game and flicked off his laptop. Juliet growled at the stewardess and glared. Artemis poked Juliet on the shoulder after he put the laptop in it's case.
"Now Juliet, let me explain something about my relatives." he glanced to see if she was paying attention, not that it mattered. She was intently staring at his eyes. "Right. Okay, so my relatives might be anything from rude to downright annoying. Under uno/u circumstances are you to do any physical harm to them. iNONE./i" Juliet nodded and verbally affirmed that nothing would happen unless they were to lay a hand on him. Artemis smiled. "I'm sure nothing will. Oh, Juliet¼ I'm sorry about¼Butler." Juliet looked at her feet.
"I'm sure that he'll be alright, Artemis" mumbled Juliet.
Two weeks before, Butler was wounded and lost a great deal of blood. Even though he was safe from death, he couldn't recover fully for a while and still needed to rest in the finest hospital. He wouldn't let Juliet stay behind with him; he was surely not letting himself get in the way of Artemis's protection.
"Don't let little old me stop you. This is your JOB, I'll be fine." insisted Butler. Juliet had tears welled up in her eyes at the time, something uncharacteristic of her. She hugged him, and he did the same for her.
"Get well, big man. I love you." Those were Juliet's last words to Butler before she left to accompany Artemis.
"On any rate, I want you to be prepared for the matter at hand. I need you to maintain your role: my older sister. If you maintain that role, nothing wrong with happen and no problems will arise. On the other hand¼ if you fail to complete your role, the only option will be to leave and you will be placed on probation. I know it is harsh, but this is important. If I cannot meet with my business associate, we have failed. Do you understand?" Juliet gulped and nodded. "My relatives are¼American. We might have troubles, they are arrogant and loud. I realize not all Americans are this way, but this particular family is. Just keep calm and nothing can happen against our plans." Juliet nodded again.
Artemis checked his Rolex timepiece. They were thirteen minutes away from arriving at JFK airport. He would then find his relatives, be driven to their residence, spend some time, and at night, slip out. He would then be transported to the headquarters of his associates and then would do business.
"Now Artemis, where are we renting our car from?" asked Juliet. Artemis pondered this for a moment and checked his palm pilot. "Well, I've brought enough money to actually buy what I want, and I'd rather dispose of it at the end of this venture. I think," he said, pausing to check his wallet. "Yes, I think that a H2 would do us well once I purchase it and get it, ahem, "pimped out"." Artemis said. He pictured the H2 he was to buy fully loaded with neons, rims, and other unnecessary equipment. He then shook his head and rethought it. "Actually, Juliet, do you think the 2003 model of the Porsche 911 is suitable?" asked Artemis.
Juliet smiled. "It's a bit on the flashy side, but probably the best choice. Uhm, but what exactly did you mean by "dispose" of it? I mean, you don't exactly just get rid of a Porsche."
"I would, I don't won't need it after this. I'll just sell it back or give it away to some charitable cause"
"We will be arriving at JFK airport in three minutes, please secure all carry on luggage." Artemis grabbed his laptop case, and Juliet found her small duffel bag of clothes. They waited silently for the plane to land, and they were admitted off once it did. Artemis and Juliet walked through the carpeted hallways, and they stopped at the luggage pickup. They stood there, and looked around, none of their luggage had arrived yet. At the point where they were going to complain, their luggage appeared. "Finally" muttered Artemis. Juliet grabbed the packs and they looked around for the person to pick them up. No one was to be seen, so Artemis flicked out his cell phone and dialed his relative's cell phone. "Uncle Paul? I don't see you anywhere, where should I be?"
"Hey Art, how's it been? Well, I'm at JFK, I'm on my way to baggage right now. I'll see ya there!" The phone clicked off and Artemis snapped his phone closed.
"We'll see him anytime now¼" Artemis trailed off. He noticed a tall American man walking towards them; he was muscular, tall, and was wearing a black pinstriped suit. He had a silver tie on and was smiling.
"Artemis Fowl, I presume."